New Republican Proposal Would Require Illegal Immigrant Return

According to a report in the Arizona Republic published today, Republican lawmakers have proposed legislation that would permit illegal immigrants to work in the United States on condition that they agree to return to their countries of origins.

Source:

Link.

There are two problems with the proposal. The first is the obvious one: How does one secure the agreement of these aliens? The second is more subtle: How does one enforce any such agreement, particularly if the aliens settle in the United States and eventually have children who, by the terms of American law, would automatically be U.S. citizens?

It is possible for Congress to modify the law to provide that children of illegal aliens would not be automatically conferred the status of U.S. citizens. However, some analysts say that this may run into Constitutional objections on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment.

In view of the magnitude of illegal immigration, let us hope that a solution is found to this most pressing problem.